As ESSA Frees Up Federal Funds, Districts Should Invest in America’s ‘Graduation Dividend’

Over the next few weeks, America should reach an important new milestone.

Thanks to a lot of hard work by educators everywhere, high school graduation rates have inched up 1 percentage point every year since 2011, hitting a record 82 percent last year. That is a trend with huge implications for the U.S. economy: Another 1-point gain by the Class of 2016 likely will add approximately $742 million to the gross domestic product by the midpoint of those graduates’ careers, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education.